The Glasgow Life website promised that today’s Mitchell Library “presentation would display a cross section of the many illustrations of Glasgow through the ages, both humorous and descriptive, including a sample of the fine range of 19th century cartoons that throw light into some of the people and events of the past” [copyedited].
As it turned out, Bill Black’s presentation was as much about the life in and architecture of the city from the 18th to the 20th century as about illustrating it, but so much the better. It was my first visit to an event of this kind here and I quite enjoyed it.
The two pieces of information which I found most interesting were (1) that the McLennan Arch, which stands at the western entrance of Glasgow Green, was originally a part of 18th-century Assembly Halls on Ingram Street, and (2) that the Glasgow Looking Glass (later renamed to Northern Looking Glass) was probably the world’s first comics.
